Court thaws IFC freeze power I
By Jim Moore
Of the Emerald
The Constitution Court announced Wednesday
that an Incidental Fee Committee resolution giving
the IFC power to freeze a program's funds is
unconstitutional.
The ASUO Executive filed a complaint with the
court, saying the resolution is an encroachment of
executive powers. .
That resolution says "if the conditions set forth
for the release of allocated incidental fees are not be
ing met, the IFC reserves the right to freeze a pro
gram's accounts."
In reaching its decision, the court pointed to the
"respective roles” of each branch of government.
"The IFC has legislative authority regarding
policy in the area of incidental fees; the Executive
does not. Conversely, the Executive is empowered
with the authority to enforce the policy of the IFC,"
says the unanimous opinion written by court
member Jim Richards.
The decision met with expected mixed reactions
from the parties involved.
"The green tape notebook rules are very clear
and the result was expected," says ASUO Pres. Mary
Hotchkiss. The notebook contains the ASUO Con
stitution and various rules.
But IFC member Marc Spence disagrees.
"There's still a danger of the Executive assuming
too much power," Spence says.
However, IFC Vice Chair Sheila Schain supports
the court's decision. Schain was the only member of
the committee to vote against the resolution when
the IFC adopted it. She argued then that the resolu
tion is unconstitutional.
Another IFC member, Lois Day, says that even
though the court did not rule in favor of the commit
tee's resolution it did concede that the IFC has
legislative powers.
"We lost the resolution, but not the battle," Day
says. She also points out that a dicta added to the
decision makes it clear that the Executive has no op
tion in the case of a program misusing its funds. The
Executive must freeze such a program's budget, says
the decision.
IFC Chair Julie Davis agrees with Day.
Davis says the committee probably will republish
its resolutions without the questionable resolution.
Another option is to attach similar language as the
resolution to each program's budget, Davis says.
The resolution will be addressed during the IFC
meeting today at 3:30 p.m. in Century Room F of the
EMU.
Student poses conduct question
The Constitution Court an
nounced Monday the adoption of
a temporary set of rules governing
the conduct of court members.
The rules are intended to be in ef
fect for a few months until an
Executive-appointed committee
can recommend a code of con
duct for the court.
The question of the court hav
ing such rules was raised by
University law student Rebecca
Craven following the OSPIRG
court case.
In a letter sent to the court, the
ASUO Executive and the Oregon
Daily Emerald, Craven said "the
power of the Constitution Court
has become apparent."
She asked that the court's
bylaws be published and said that
"the student body should be
aware of any code of ethics to
which the members of the court
are bound."
Until the court’s adoption Mon
day, there was no such code.
Because of Craven's letter.
Court Chair Alan Contreras asked
ASUO Pres. Mary Hotchkiss to
"appoint a small, knowledgable
committee to review the various
questions involved."
Two unrelated incidents involv
Convocation will address
moral justification of arms
The Third Annual Armistice Day
Convocation for Peace, to be held
at 8 p.m. tonight in the First Con
gregational Church, 1050 E. 23rd
Ave., will center on the theme,
“Can the use of a nuclear weapon
ever be morally justifiable?"
The free program will feature
four speakers: Robert Berdahl,
dean of the College of Arts and
Sciences at the University; Patrick
Lynch of the University Newman
Center; Stephen Reynolds,
associate professor of religious
studies, and Cheyney Ryan,
associate professor of philosophy.
State Rep. Mary McCauley
Burrows, of Eugene, will moderate
the discussion, which is spon
sored by the University Faculty
Arms Control Group in conjunc
tion with Students for a Nuclear
Free Society and the social con
cerns committee of the First Con
gregational Church.
Berdahl will review "Ethics of
the Arms Race: Past, Present and
Future." Lynch will discuss "Ap
plying Moral Principles to Nuclear
Issues.” Reynolds will address the
recent Roman Catholic Pastoral
Letter on the issue "Bishops and
Bombs: A Moral Dilemma." Ryan
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will talk on "Morality and Reality
in the Arms Race."
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professor, chairs the Faculty Arms
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Child care will be provided.
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Campus 485-1581
ing court decisions were outlined
in Contreras' request, which he
said sparked the evaluation of
court members' conduct.
“During the OSPIRG case, ques
tions were raised regarding the
appropriate role of court
members in assisting in the
development of the general issues
to be addressed,” he said in his
letter.
Contreras said he tried to assist
other court members and raised
questions that neither party might
have raised because of the com
plexity of the case.
This ensured that the issues
were not presented in such a man
ner that would waste time, he
said. Contreras said he developed
the issues because of a "concern
of the process.”
Hotchkiss has chosen two
members of a three-person com
mittee to examine the question
and make a recommendation.
The committee is not expected
to reach a conclusion until
sometime winter term.
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